Jack's Track of the Day Thread

[Jack of Arcades]

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I heart Neko.

GoT

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Who doesn't?

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TTIWWP

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We weren't talking about her looks.

[xorbie]

I'm having a tough time getting into the New Pornographer's album. I do like These are the Fables but a lot of the rest of it is really eh to me.

[Jack of Arcades]

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I'm having a tough time getting into the New Pornographer's album. I do like These are the Fables but a lot of the rest of it is really eh to me.

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It's really a grower. I think just about everybody that got it at first was "eh, it's okay" and then about a week later was like "wow, this is their best stuff yet."

[Soul Daddy]

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I'm having a tough time getting into the New Pornographer's album. I do like These are the Fables but a lot of the rest of it is really eh to me.

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It's really a grower. I think just about everybody that got it at first was "eh, it's okay" and then about a week later was like "wow, this is their best stuff yet."

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I concur. I recall telling people how disappointed I was with it then taking it all back a few days later.

[Jack of Arcades]

I got a message from Soul Daddy last night:

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So, I met our mutual man-crush tonight, Britt Daniel. I felt a bit fanboyish, but whatever. He stayed after the show and just hung out with a bunch of fans, signing autographs, taking shots, talking. Really cool, down to earth guy.

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Just another reason why Spoon’s the best rock band on the planet right now.

Download "I Summon You," by Spoon

[Jack of Arcades]

By the way, I've started posting the songs to a livejournal account. Feel free to friend the account so you can get updates as I post them there. The livejournal also has the benefits of tags, so you can see all posts under a certain genre or year.

[private joker]

I interviewed B. Daniel when I was writing for an indie rock magazine. He seemed nice at first, when we were eating burgers at a place down from the venue, but once the tape recorder started he got very attitude-heavy, like he thought he deserved to be a rock star and was pissed that he wasn't. He danced around most of the questions and took a holier-than-thou, my-music-tastes-are-the-best tone when speaking about the world of indie rock. It came off as snotty and he didn't seem to appreciate getting media coverage.

Plus, the live show wasn't as good as the record. Overall, meh.

[Jack of Arcades]

While it's unusual to bestow such an honor on a release that plays less than 24 minutes, it's not much of a stretch to call Iron and Wine's six-song EP The Woman King one of the best albums of 2005. Folk singer Jim Beam grows into something more than 2004's fantasic release Our Endless Numbered Days - in all it's beautiful lo-fi, Beam shows that he can be so much more. Woman King opens with the titular track - full with distortion and percussion accompanying Beam's whispery voice and acoustic guitar. It's not so much of a reversal from Iron and Wine's previous minimalist releases as much as a logical step.

To go along with the added layers of music, Jim Beam shows that he can [censored] bring it with a couple of rockers that'll having you tapping your feet.

It's hard to choose a song from this album. Four of the six represent a departure from the previous works but the two that would seem right in place in 2004 - "Jezebel," and "In My Lady's House" are both strong tracks, the former in particular might be the best track on the EP.

However, "Evening On The Ground (Lilith's Song)" probably best combines the elements of old and new. The acoustic guitar is the strongest on the album and fits right into layers of harmonica, electric guitar, and percussion to make a surreal sound. The lyrics, too, while scant, might be the strongest of the record with lines such as "we were born to [censored] each other one way or another." It also has the advantage of being the shortest song off the album, which makes my uploads and your downloads quicker.

Download "Evening On The Ground (Lilith's Song)"

[Jack of Arcades]

I was first introduced to Ladytron sometime soon after 604 was released in 2002 through my friend Cimon. Cimon was into the quirky stuff – ATDI, Bjork, etc – and Ladytron was certainly quirky. But while the English and Hungarian lyrics awash in synthesizers and bouncing on blips was certainly catchy, like planet Earth it was mostly harmless. Their next release, Light & Magic offered a slight shift in the band's sound, but you got the feeling they were running in place. However, Like yesterday’s spotlight, Iron and Wine, Ladytron’s latest release The Witching Hour represents a step forward. This time, the step goes from “harmlessly catchy” to “flat-out awesome.”

Download Ladytron - "Destroy Everything You Touch"

[Jack of Arcades]

WARNING: QUIRKY, POPPY, DANCY, CATCHY GOODNESS AHEAD. IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE PURE JOY IN MUSIC FORM DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS SONG. ALSO, YOU SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER KILLING YOURSELF.

Boy, did Architecture in Helsinki’s previous release, Fingers Crossed, blow massive amounts of chunks. People will disagree with me, and if they care enough, they might try to convince you otherwise. They’re wrong, though. I still decided to give In Case We Die a shot, though, out of the goodness of my heart. I’m glad I have a good heart, too, because In Case We Die is everything Fingers Crossed is not: a full, dancy, catchy, all-out great pop album that should get even the most timid, or most hard-ass of people to shake their rumps.

“Do The Whirlwind” is the first single off the album, and while it might not be the best song off the album, it’s the most consistent and danciest pop song off the album. Whereas other songs (“It’s 5,” “Wishbone,” “Maybe You Can Owe Me”) show greatness in spurts in 50 to 90 seconds, “Do The Whirlwind” brings the pop goodness for a solid four-and-a-half minutes straight, getting the nod from me for Track of the Day.

Download "Do the Whirlwind"